I’ll start. Not to toot my own horn but I feel I’m at least partially responsible for getting a friend to see the value of romantic love, which she managed to find!
Not sure about the whole idea of being proud of something. It seems to me that it is a concept that evaporates when you look closely at it.
However I am pleased with the role that I played in getting some meadows that were going to be sold off for housing included a nature reserve instead when I was the ranger for the site.
I’d created some good toad breeding habitat nearby and then I put in a lot of my own time in building a volunteer group and recording in detail where the toads went and how they used the land - including the area that was going to be sold - over the course of a few years. It turned out to be the largest recorded toad colony of its type in the UK one year. The data was a critical point in the final decision by the local authority.
The thing about being proud is that it seems odd to be proud of something over which you have no control. Well, OK, I did have control here: I chose to spend my time in doing this, certainly. But I can be quite determined about things like that - that is down to my temperament. Do I actually have control of my temperament - or was I just born that way? Even if I have developed my own temperament over the years - wouldn’t that simply be because I was born with the capability of developing it? And so on and so on. Ultimately it always seems to boil down to something over which I really couldn’t say that I have any control.
But I can be pleased at any of those, no matter what.
Researchers at Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China, have announced the discovery of a new species within the hedgehog genus Mesechinus. The eastern China hedgehog species was found to be distinct from other regional hedgehogs across morphological and phylogenetic characteristics....
Since 2009, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative has coordinated an annual horizon scan, a well-established method for predicting which threats, changes, and technologies will have the biggest impact on biological conservation in the following year....
If nothing existed, it would not be possible to raise a question of this - or any other - type.
So that is that determined.
Whether anything beyond my instantaneous perception of thought relating to this question exists is another matter. I can’t prove it. I wouldn’t really say that I do ‘explain’ it either. I merely have an experience of it.
The far-right Alternative for Germany has won its first election for mayor of a midsized German town, another milestone in the rising popularity of the party that has been boosted by voter disillusionment with the country’s ruling coalition....
There are years when I have read upwards of 60 books and others when I have scarcely read 6. It depends heavily on what else is going on. I don’t do numerical goals and never have.
For the last few years, however, no matter how many others I read, I have had a ‘big read’ of some kind spread across the year: War and Peace first - since it has 365 chapters in total, then In Search of Lost Time, and this year Finnegans Wake - which I was reading with a group which scheduled in some ‘summing up time’ at the end so I have finished it already. In 2024 I have decided that it will be The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: so completing that is my goal.
An isolated shingle spit nature reserve. We’d lost mains power in a storm some while back and were running on a generator. Fuel deliveries were hard to arrange. We’d finally got one. We were pretty much running on fumes and another storm was coming in. We really needed this delivery.
To collect the fuel, I had to take the Unimog along a dump track and across 5 miles of loose shingle - including one low causeway stretch through a lagoon that was prone to wash out during storms. We’d rebuilt it a LOT over the years. On the way up, there was plenty of water around there, but it was still solid.
I get up to the top ok and get the tank full - 2000L of red diesel - but the wind is pretty strong by the time I have. Half way back, I drop down off the seawall and reach the causeway section. The water is just about topping over. If I don’t go immediately, I won’t get through at all and we will be out of fuel for days - maybe weeks. So I put my foot down and get through that section only to find that 200 meters on, another section already has washed out. Oh shit.
I back up a little but sure enough the first section has also washed through now. I now have the vehicle and a full load of fuel marooned on a short section of causeway that is slowly washing out. Oh double shit. Probably more than double. Calling it in on the radio, everyone else agrees and starts preparing for a pollution incident.
In the end I find the firmest spot that I can in that short stretch and leave the Moggie there. Picking my route and my moment carefully I can get off that ‘island’ on foot - no hope with the truck - BUT due to the layout of the lagoons only to the seaward ridge, where the waves are now crashing over into the lagoon with alarming force. I then spend one of the longest half-hours I can remember freezing cold and drenched, scrambling yard by yard along the back side of that ridge and flattening myself and hoping each time a big wave hits.
The firm bit of causeway survived and there was no washed away Unimog or pollution in the end - and I didn’t drown either - but much more by luck than judgement.
These days I am in a position where I am responsible for writing risk assessments and methods statements for procedures like this. It was another world back then.
i feel happy and proud of myself because a few weeks ago i replaced all drinks and soda with just water woa!! i feel ok and very calm most of the time, but is doing this ok?? am i missing out on important vitamins if i don’t drink juice or soda etc?? i know water doesn’t have anything, no vitamins, nothing, just water, but...
Humans have spent most of their evolutionary history not drinking juice or soda or anything. It is absolutely fine - as long as you are eating healthily.
These days it is once in a blue moon that I drink anything except water myself. I don’t believe that the very occasional elderflower presse is the only thing standing between me and a hideous malnourished death.
What do you mean by “what happens”? You get nutrients from the food and you hydrate with the water. You carry on as normal otherwise. Nothing much else “happens”.
Meerkats may look cute, but the dominant females are notoriously deadly and will kill female relatives and eat their offspring to suppress reproduction and eliminate future competition. Now, scientists may finally know what helps these murderous matriarchs become dominant — and stay on top....
I am especially interested in the initial migrations into the Americas 15,000+ years ago, but our community is small and my interests large, so… any great documentaries are welcome.
Climate change is worsening the planet’s biodiversity crises, making environments more deadly for thousands of species and accelerating the precipitous decline in the number of plants and animals on Earth, according to an international organization that tracks species health....
Just curious what are the top 3 podcasts you listened to this year on whatever platform. Antennapod released a feature that summarized your year and well the amount of hours kinda surprised me in a good way, haha....
Sat - we’ll typically watch a movie, which may be at the cinema or, if not, then on a TV via my Plex setup. Sun - we may watch a couple of 50min episodes of something, again on a TV from my Plex collection.
Not sure if you’d count both - or either - of those as watching TV.
You have been sentenced to life in a micronation of your choosing (Sealand, Molossia, etc.) The micronation must have actual land and you may never leave that land. What micronation do you choose?...
The closest to me AFAIK is Sealand, but I’d rather not, tbh. I do actually have a passport from Waveland, declared as part of a Greenpeace campaign some years back and based on Rockall, but also not too appealing as a long-term residence.
At one site that I lived and worked on for several years, we discussed declaring unilateral independence on several occasions. It was a shingle spit nature reserve and seemed a promising location, but we never did. Well, not so far.
Overall, the Free Borough of Llanrwst looks a good bet. I have been there and definitely enjoy the area.
I’m a pagan, so it is all about the solstice for my SO and I.
We will typically go somewhere for the sunrise that morning. I have been to Stonehenge and a couple of other stone circles in the past, camping out overnight beforehand - and more recently have watched the live stream from Newgrange. For the last few years we have also celebrated Brumalia - a Roman and Byzantine winter festival that started (in its later period) on Nov 24th. So we progressively decorate the house with lights or holly, ivy, pine cones etc each day from then until the start of Saturnalia on Dec 17th. I have also made an advent-style calendar with chocolates in matchboxes that runs throughout Brumalia - Nov 24th to Dec 25th.
On Dec 5th, which is Krampusnacht and also a Faunalia festival, we will hang a Krampus figure up and have taken to watching the 2015 movie for the last few years.
During Saturnalia itself we will have at least one meal or party with friends - which usually has some element of mis-rule. On the solstice itself, as well as watching the sun rise somewhere or another (probably a local beach this year, as we are on the east coast), there is a local Mummers’ play that we usually go along to in the evening. The solstice is also when we do our gift-giving.
On the 26th, there is a Cutty Wren ceremony locally that we will go along to and then there is some morris dancing at another location on new year’s day.
Adequate food supply is a fundamental need and requirement for survival. To protect a species, it is often very helpful to know what that species prefers and frequently consumes. Through the analysis of DNA traces in the droppings of a Leisler’s bat colony, researchers at LIB (Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity...
A new study has revealed a natural solution to mitigate the effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events. Researchers from Leipzig University, the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv) and other research institutions have discovered that...
Thanks to a radio sitcom a few days ago, my brain is currently obsessed with Bert Kaempfert’s Swinging Safari and has been repeating it - or at least phrases from it -pretty much continuously for the last 48 hrs. I don’t have much say in the matter myself.
I used to regularly snooze my alarm which i had set for 7:00, however recently i have noticed that i directly wake up by my alarm at 7:10 and don’t remember snoozing my alarm!...
I suppose that I have had some kind of alarm with a snooze capability since about 1980. When I first had a clock radio with that option I recall trying it a couple of times, but I have never touched it since. I was just lying there waiting for it to go off again. Nothing in any way restful about that.
Perhaps the Peter Cushing version of Dr Who and the Daleks when it was first shown on TV in the late '60s. It’s pretty weak - toned down to get a ‘U’ cert - and not a patch on Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. from the following year. When I saw that one, I recall that I was drawing scenes from it for some time afterwards. I don’t recall that from the first one though.
If this involves some kind of adjustment of orientation, then I will be doing an early Father Christmas act and coming down from where I have appeared halfway up the chimney (being generous about how wide that chimney is). If it doesn’t, then I am going to be part of the brickwork - except for my guts and arse, which will rot in place in the chimney over the next few weeks.
New genetic research has revealed how British otters were able to recover from species loss in the 1950s with the help of their counterparts from Asia....
This thread is for discussing what you are watching/watched recently. Let us know what you've seen recently whether it's old or new, good or bad, or anything in between. Obviously, movies are preferred, but feel free to post whatever you've been watching. Expect spoilers.
Typist Artist Pirate King (2023) - biopic of Audrey Amiss with a very effective portrayal of her paranoid schizophrenia.
The Creator (2023) - looked great but totally predictable and unoriginal.
A Field in England (2013) - surreal, low-key folk horror with some memorable BW cinematography.
Oppenheimer (2023) - powerful and great performances, but it could have been just as effective with 20 minutes cut IMHO.
The Miracle Club (2023) - nothing outstanding here, but a solidly told tale of forgiveness.
Lair of the White Worm (1988) - as messily uneven as ever. Amanda Donahue seemed to know what Loach Russell was aiming for. Not sure about anyone else.
Pretty much the title. I’ve been watching more realistic super hero shows like The Boys and Invincible. The reoccurring themes is that with great power comes great immorality....
This is an idea that has been around for very long time. Plato used the Ring of Gyges to talk about it - which went on to inspire Wells’ The Invisible Man - and influenced Tolkien among others.
Spain's 'Society of the Snow,' Bhutan's 'The Monk and the Gun,' and Iceland's 'Godland' all make their case for the Academy Awards shortlist. The 2023 contenders for the international film Oscar are filled with tales of real-life struggles from the Ukraine war (Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol”), the Holocaust (United...
The continued destruction of nature across the planet will result in major shocks to food supplies and safe water, the disappearance of unique species and the loss of landscapes central to human culture and leisure by the middle of this century, experts have warned....
The slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by many Indigenous societies across the world can actually have a positive impact on forests, according to a new study done in Belize....
Britain’s equality watchdog could lose its right to participate at the UN human rights council as a result of complaints about its independence and record on transgender rights....
Yes, I keep a local copy of more or less all Doctor Who on a hard drive. No, I will not get into the particulars or ethics surrounding that. My question is only about keeping the series ordered in my Kodi home theatre setup now that apparently the show has started a new season numbering starting with the upcoming 2024 outing...
I’m in the UK, but I live in a small village. The nearest place with a menu at all (a pub) is about 3 miles away. There is a bakery around the same distance - but their bread is nothing to write home about.
Closest small town - 6 miles - has a few choices but also nothing really outstanding. If I had to choose from there, there is a pizza place with an decently spicy Vesuvio. To get to actual food producers of any size or quality I need to go further afield. One of these is based on a farm. The other in an old malthouse - both also in the middle of nowhere.
The alternating blue and white are derived from the arms of the free state of Bavaria. The exact pattern is adapted partly because it was illegal to use it directly but ultimately from there. More details on the Wikipedia page, as always. The propellers idea only came about as a result of an ad campaign later.
Firefox users are reporting an 'artificial' load time on YouTube videos. YouTube says it's part of a plan to make people who use adblockers "experience suboptimal viewing, regardless of the browser they are using."
For me, it’s jingle all the way. It’s got everything. A drunk reindeer. A terrorist mailman. Arnold punching a deer. Arnold punching Sinbad. Arnold punching Santa. Arnold in general....
Since it is well established that Die Hard qualifies, by the same criterion so does Gilliam’s Brazil from 1985, and that would be mine, for its gloriously nightmarish dystopia - closely followed by Klaus (2019), which is a far more conventional seasonal tale: an animation with a beautiful style of artwork and a great story.
For more than 20 years, a research team at Lund University in Sweden has studied the common bluetail damselfly. Females occur in three different color forms—one with a male-like appearance, something that protects them from mating harassment. In a new study, an international research team found that this genetic color...
What's something you've done that you're proud of?
I’ll start. Not to toot my own horn but I feel I’m at least partially responsible for getting a friend to see the value of romantic love, which she managed to find!
Newly discovered hedgehog species diverged from others more than a million years ago (phys.org)
Researchers at Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China, have announced the discovery of a new species within the hedgehog genus Mesechinus. The eastern China hedgehog species was found to be distinct from other regional hedgehogs across morphological and phylogenetic characteristics....
Horizon scan identifies 15 most pressing issues for conservation, including invertebrate decline and marine ecosystems (phys.org)
Since 2009, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative has coordinated an annual horizon scan, a well-established method for predicting which threats, changes, and technologies will have the biggest impact on biological conservation in the following year....
How do you explain to yourself the existence of this Universe or the existence of anything at all?
German far-right party makes fresh electoral breakthrough (archive.is)
The far-right Alternative for Germany has won its first election for mayor of a midsized German town, another milestone in the rising popularity of the party that has been boosted by voter disillusionment with the country’s ruling coalition....
Do you guys have any book reading goals for next year?
Personally, I am trying to read 15 books this year and mix in more non-fiction books.
Lemmy, what are some of your "oh shit" work stories?
what if a human being replaced all drinkable liquids with water??
i feel happy and proud of myself because a few weeks ago i replaced all drinks and soda with just water woa!! i feel ok and very calm most of the time, but is doing this ok?? am i missing out on important vitamins if i don’t drink juice or soda etc?? i know water doesn’t have anything, no vitamins, nothing, just water, but...
Some female meerkats have a brutal, bloodthirsty streak, and now we may know why (www.livescience.com)
Meerkats may look cute, but the dominant females are notoriously deadly and will kill female relatives and eat their offspring to suppress reproduction and eliminate future competition. Now, scientists may finally know what helps these murderous matriarchs become dominant — and stay on top....
For speakers of Bulgarian: is the "Комбайна вършачка" song really about a combined thresher machine? (youtu.be)
Cross-posted from: feddit.it/post/3909307
What is your favorite anthropology documentary?
I am especially interested in the initial migrations into the Americas 15,000+ years ago, but our community is small and my interests large, so… any great documentaries are welcome.
Endangered species list grows by 2,000. Climate change is part of the problem (phys.org)
Climate change is worsening the planet’s biodiversity crises, making environments more deadly for thousands of species and accelerating the precipitous decline in the number of plants and animals on Earth, according to an international organization that tracks species health....
What podcasts did you listen to the most this year
Just curious what are the top 3 podcasts you listened to this year on whatever platform. Antennapod released a feature that summarized your year and well the amount of hours kinda surprised me in a good way, haha....
How many hours do you watch TV on a weekend?
You have to spend the rest of your life in a micronation. Which do you choose?
You have been sentenced to life in a micronation of your choosing (Sealand, Molossia, etc.) The micronation must have actual land and you may never leave that land. What micronation do you choose?...
What are your festive traditions?
What do you do (either in your country/culture or as a tradition with your family/friends) to celebrate or mark this time of year?
DNA analysis of bat droppings shows astonishingly high number of insect species (phys.org)
Adequate food supply is a fundamental need and requirement for survival. To protect a species, it is often very helpful to know what that species prefers and frequently consumes. Through the analysis of DNA traces in the droppings of a Leisler’s bat colony, researchers at LIB (Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity...
What are some of the most improved TV shows of all time that you've seen? (kbin.social)
As in, poor first season or even first seasons but then huge improvement later on.
Researchers discover plant diversity stabilizes soil temperature (phys.org)
A new study has revealed a natural solution to mitigate the effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events. Researchers from Leipzig University, the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv) and other research institutions have discovered that...
Which song are you currently obsessed with?
I will start. Lovely by Billie Eilish. I have already played it 34 times and can’t get enough it. I feel like i could hear it all day.
What is your favorite hobby?
;-)
Anyone else no longer remember snoozing their alarm?
I used to regularly snooze my alarm which i had set for 7:00, however recently i have noticed that i directly wake up by my alarm at 7:10 and don’t remember snoozing my alarm!...
What are some of the best new TV shows of 2023 that you've watched, and what are some of the most disappointing? (kbin.social)
See title.
What is the first movie you can remember ever having watched? (kbin.social)
What do you think about that movie now?
You've been instantly teleported two feet to the left. How does this affect you?
Uncovering the genetic history of British otters (phys.org)
New genetic research has revealed how British otters were able to recover from species loss in the 1950s with the help of their counterparts from Asia....
What is the least amusing joke you're aware of?
What are you watching? (DECEMBER 2023) (i.gzn.jp)
This thread is for discussing what you are watching/watched recently. Let us know what you've seen recently whether it's old or new, good or bad, or anything in between. Obviously, movies are preferred, but feel free to post whatever you've been watching. Expect spoilers.
Be honest: if you had the power to stop time, your morals would go out the window. (lemmy.zip)
Pretty much the title. I’ve been watching more realistic super hero shows like The Boys and Invincible. The reoccurring themes is that with great power comes great immorality....
Bhutan, Spain, Iceland: Why these Oscar entries for international film are worth a watch (www.latimes.com)
Spain's 'Society of the Snow,' Bhutan's 'The Monk and the Gun,' and Iceland's 'Godland' all make their case for the Academy Awards shortlist. The 2023 contenders for the international film Oscar are filled with tales of real-life struggles from the Ukraine war (Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol”), the Holocaust (United...
‘A biodiversity catastrophe’: how the world could look in 2050 – unless we act now (www.theguardian.com)
The continued destruction of nature across the planet will result in major shocks to food supplies and safe water, the disappearance of unique species and the loss of landscapes central to human culture and leisure by the middle of this century, experts have warned....
Slash-and-burn agriculture can increase forest biodiversity (phys.org)
The slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by many Indigenous societies across the world can actually have a positive impact on forests, according to a new study done in Belize....
UK equality watchdog faces review after new complaint over trans stance (www.theguardian.com)
Britain’s equality watchdog could lose its right to participate at the UN human rights council as a result of complaints about its independence and record on transgender rights....
Doctor Who, new series order in home media server?
Yes, I keep a local copy of more or less all Doctor Who on a hard drive. No, I will not get into the particulars or ethics surrounding that. My question is only about keeping the series ordered in my Kodi home theatre setup now that apparently the show has started a new season numbering starting with the upcoming 2024 outing...
What are you looking forward to in 2024?
Lemmy, what’s your favorite local menu item right now?
What logo does have parts (if not the whole thing) that refer into the past? (kbin.social)
Example: Warner Bros' logo looks like a shield which makes me think about medieval times.
Recognizing fake news now a required subject in California schools (www.pleasantonweekly.com)
YouTube Says New 5-Second Video Load Delay Is Supposed to Punish Ad Blockers, Not Firefox Users (www.404media.co)
Firefox users are reporting an 'artificial' load time on YouTube videos. YouTube says it's part of a plan to make people who use adblockers "experience suboptimal viewing, regardless of the browser they are using."
What's your favorite Christmas movie, and why?
For me, it’s jingle all the way. It’s got everything. A drunk reindeer. A terrorist mailman. Arnold punching a deer. Arnold punching Sinbad. Arnold punching Santa. Arnold in general....
Do lemmings actually jump off of cliffs? | Live Science (www.livescience.com)
Scientists claim to have solved the damselfly color mystery (phys.org)
For more than 20 years, a research team at Lund University in Sweden has studied the common bluetail damselfly. Females occur in three different color forms—one with a male-like appearance, something that protects them from mating harassment. In a new study, an international research team found that this genetic color...